This invention relates to stop watches, and provides features for stop watches which accommodate wearing of the watch while running. Use by distance runners, e.g. joggers, is particularly contemplated.
The stop watches now commonly used are about two inches in diameter and are designed to be held in the palm of the hand by one other than the runner, such as a coach timing the runner. A sweep second hand and a sweep minute hand are provided and control means are provided for starting and stopping the watch and for resetting the hands to the time zero position. The control means includes push-buttons or control pins which protrude radially from the side of the case. The push-buttons can be moved radially with the fingers to control the operation of the watch, e.g. starting, stopping, and resetting. Stop watches with a digital read-out are also available. A San Francisco, Calif. company, The Sharper Image, has advertised liquid crystal digital stopwatches wherein control is by way of push buttons which are moved axially, i.e. moved in the direction perpendicular to the face of the watch. The advertisements appear in Runner's World, September 1978, pp. 3,4.
It has also been proposed to provide stop watches as are described above with a strap making them wrist watches.
The first mentioned stop watches have the disadvantage that they must be held in the hand by the user. A further disadvantage, if the watch is worn while running, and has radially protruding push buttons or control pins, is that the control pins make holding of the watch uncomfortable and clumsy. The wrist watches also have disadvantages. Thus, conventional stop watches, i.e. those with sweep hands rather than digital readout, are somewhat larger than the usual wrist watches so that the stop watches are bulky for the wrist. Also, when a jacket or the like or gloves are worn, the watch is not readily accessible. Another consideration is that many runners take their pulse immediately following running. If the pulse is taken at the wrist, the watch or the strap may interfere with the pulse measurement.
The objective of the invention is to provide features which particularly facilitate the use of stop watches by runners.